1. $12,000 Pink Floyd — Meddle LP: It’s reassuring to know that, amid all the talk of financial woes, there’s still somebody out there willing to spend $12,000 on a Pink Floyd LP. Of course, this isn’t just any old copy of Meddle, but a rare Colombian blue-vinyl pressing, in VG++ shape.

2. $4,300 Pink Floyd — Japanese promo LP (“cow head cover”): Floyd strikes again, grabbing the number two spot with a very rare 1970 Japanese promo LP. This is a VG+ condition copy of this sought-after Floyd rarity, of which only 50 copies are said to exist. Tracks are: “Summer Of 68,” “Careful With That Axe Eugene,” “Nile Song,” “If,” “Bidding My Time,” “Let There Be More Light,” “Julia Dream,” “Main Theme More,” “Saucerful Of Secrets” and “See Emily Play.”

3. $3,381 U2 — Three 12″ single: Up next we have an excellent condition copy of U2’s very first release, the Three 12″ from 1979. This is #407 of the original numbered run of 1,000 issued in Ireland. The tracks are “Out of Control,” “Boy/Girl” and “Stories for Boys.” (“Out of Control” and “Stories for Boys” both subsequently appeared on the Boy album in re-recorded versions.)

4. $2,450 Nirvana — “Love Buzz” b/w “Big Cheese”: Another numbered item: #47 of the 1,000 first-pressing copies of Nirvana’s 1988 “Love Buzz” single on SubPop, in mint condition. This release is so rare that there’s an owner’s list online at www.sliver.it.

5. $2,325 The Beatles — Something New: Next up is a VG++ copy of Capitol’s “Compact 33” 7″ 33 1/3 version of The Beatles’ Something New album. Tracks on this item, intended for jukebox use only, are: “I’ll Cry Instead,” “And I Love Her,” “Slow Down,” “If I Fell,” “Tell Me Why” and “Matchbox.”

6. $2,225 The Saints — “I’ll Let You Slide” b/w “Love Can Be”: After getting through five items without a single Northern soul 45, we come to — a Northern soul 45. A rare one, naturally, from 1973, in VG+ shape, on the Wigwam label.
7. $2,210 Al Williams — “I Am Nothing” b/w “Brand New Love”: Another Northern-soul rarity, this one from Detroit, in mint-minus shape, on the Palmer label. A very good-condition copy was featured in this column a couple of years back, when it sold for no less than $3,716.

8. $1,999.99 Tommy Ridgley — “My Love Gets Stronger” b/w “Fly in My Pie”: Still more Northern soul: A rare 1968 release by New Orleans singer Tommy Ridgely, whose recording career spanned several decades. This single, in very good shape, was Ridgely’s only release for the International City label, although he recorded for a number of other labels over the years, including Atlantic, Imperial and Decca.

9. $1,915.99 Kaleidoscope — Tangerine Dream: Up next is a U.K. first-pressing copy of Kaleidoscope’s 1967 debut LP, Tangerine Dream, one of the most sought-after gems of the psychedelic era, on the Fontana label. This was the first of two albums by the British psych group, who subsequently changed their name to Fairfield Parlour to avoid being confused with the American psych band Kaleidoscope. (To further add to the name confusion, 1967 also saw the formation of the German electronic band Tangerine Dream.) This album was reissued on CD in 1998 by Repertoire Records, with several bonus tracks added to the original lineup.

10. $1,825 Bob & Fred — “I’ll Be on My Way” b/w “I’ll Be on My Way” (instrumental): We finish up with another Northern-soul rarity, on the Detroit-based Big Mack label, in mint-minus condition. This 1966 single was the only release by the duo of Bob Thomas and Fred Brown. (“I’ll Be on My Way” was also composed by Thomas and Brown and should not be confused with the Lennon-McCartney number of the same name, recorded by Billy J. Kramer.) Bob & Fred’s “I’ll Be on My Way” was included on the 2006 CD compilation Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label.